On January 20, the INRAP (French Institute of preventive archaeology research), overall coordinator of the European Archaeology Days (EAD), invited the national coordinators as well as several partners of the event at the UNESCO in Paris for a day of get-together and discussions. 19 countries were represented during the Forum, with the participation of 26 national coordinators. Lygeri Papagiannaki represented EXARC at the EAD Forum, as its EAD coordinator.

The welcoming word of Dominique Garcia, president of the Inrap, was followed by Polina Komenkho, representative of the European Commission, who addressed the ways culture can contribute to the development of a European identity, and by Ann Degreave, president of Europea Archaeologiae Concilium, who focused on the significance and public benefit of archaeology. Finally, Pascal Ratier, coordinator on the EAD for Inrap, presented a review of the EADs since 2019.

According to this review, European participation to the EAD has steadily grown, from 18 countries in 2019 to 30 countries in 2022. Despite the inevitable slowdown due to the pandemic, 1516 venues hosted events in 2022 and many more are welcome to join in the following years.

Save the date: in 2023, the European Archaeology Days will take place on June 16, 17 and 18.